Bottle cap applying machine



June 29, 9 3: A. A BARNES Em 2 322, 12-

BOTTLE CAP APPLYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1959 a Sheets-Sheet 1 01 5120a. .Bamsa A ORNEYJ.

*June 29 1943.

A. A BARNES ETAL BOTTLE CAP APPLYING MACHINE Filed July 26,1939 I 9Sheets-Sheet 2 i I mvawiroxs: v

atfyedaiflarfles BY g fl'iC3: 1- 404 v ATTORNEYS.

June 29, 1943. v A. A. BARNES ETAL I 2,322,812

BOTTLE CAP APPLYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1959 9 Sheets-Sheet s sag d aB INVENTORS.

BY infafizz PM;

ATTORNEYS.

June 29, 1943.

A. A. BARNES ETAL BOTTLE cAP 'APPLYING AbHINE Filed July as, 1939' 9Sheets-Sheet 4 n 29, 1943. A. A. BARNES Em 2, ,812

BOTTLE CAP APPLYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1939 ShetQ-Sheet 5 INVENTORS;alfred a. B m

ATTORNEYS- June 29, 1943; A. A BARNES ETAL j BOTTLE 0A2; APPLYING 1440mmI Filed July 26, 1939 9 sheet -sheet 6 INVENTORfi-T June29 1943. A B SETAL 2,322,812

BOTTLE CAP APPLYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1939 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 r 2mvzmons:

fllflred a. ,Bames F -Bjff A ORNEYS Jim 29, 1943.

A. A. BARNES EFAL BOTTLE c4? APPLYIN-G MLACHINE Filed July 26, 1939 9Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTORSI v A ORNEYS.

June 29, 1943. A. A. BARNES arm.

BOTTLE CAP APPLYING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed July 26, 1939INVENTORS: Barnes IE lE [lg/red 4 BY db folu%j ice W M ATTORNEY6.

, Patented June 29, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT} OFFICE Bo'r'rLa car2,322,812 APPLYING MACHINE Alfred A. Barnes, Syracuse, and'lohn F.Price.

Fulton, N. Y., assltnors to Oswego Falls Ool'po,

ration, Fulton, N. Y., a corporation oi New York Application July 2c,1939,- Serial No. 286,638 19 Claims. (Cl. 22683) This invention relatesin general to a machine for applying closure to containers, and moreparticularly to a machine for applying closures in the nature offlexible hood caps which caps, or at least the'skirts thereof, arecoated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application of heat tomake the caps self securing after they have been applied to andcontracted about the bottle.

The machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings is intendedspecifically to apply'paper material hood caps to milk bottles. The capare and embodying a novel structure by which the caps are quickly andproperly heated.

The invention ha as a further object an improved and simplifiedstructure for eflecting transfer of the caps through the heating ovenand applying th caps to the tops of thebottles, while the bottles areadvanced ina continuously mov-' ing procession.

The invention has as a further object the provision of means which isoperable, upon cessa- Figure 4 a transverse sectional view of theheating oven showing the cap conveyor and con-' tiguous portions oi themachin in plan.

-. Figure 5 is a top plan view or a portion of the machine shown inFigure 1 illustrating the ar- '1 rangement of the cap heating oven, the'drive for ferringthe caps 'heatingoven and the cap ous portions of themachine;

the cap conveyor, and the mechanism for transto the cap conveyo Figure 6is a vertical sectional view-oi the cap conveyor and contigu- Figure 7is a vertical sectional view of the cap conveyorrdrive mechanism andillustrating the cap transfer mechanism in elevation.

Figure 8 is aside elevational view of the cap transfer mechanism andcontiguous. portion of the cap mechanism in section.

Figure 9 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of the structureshown in Figure 8.

of a cap closing mechanism therefor, being tion oi the advancement ofbottles, to reduce the Q heat transfer from the heating oven to the capsthen being heated thereby, whereby such caps will not become overheatedor ignited.

The invention has as a further object a provision of means forpreliminarily centering the bottle with the cap closing heads previousto the application of the caps to the bottl The invention consists inthe novel features and in the combinations and constructions hereinafterset forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanyingdrawing in which like characters designate corresponding parts in allthe views.

Figure 1 is a front elevational view, withparts broken away and partsshown in section, of a machine involving my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on lines 2-2,

substantially on lines Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view taken Figure 10 is an enlarged verticalsectlonal viewhead and contiguous operating taken substantially on lines |&il,Figure2.

Figure 11' is a fragmentary side elevational view of the mechanism forremoving an unused cap from the cap conveyor, and Fig. 12, is a top planview of the base of. the machine with the turret and upper structureremoved and parts shown in section.

The machine, to which this invention appertains; is of the generaltypedisclosed in Patent to Wright et al., No. 1,884,952, October 25,1932, and consists generally of a base or frame upon which is rotatablymounted a bottle carrying turret. A pair of star wheels, or likemembers, are also rotatabiy mounted upon the frame in juxtaposition tothe turret, one of which serves to feed the uncapped bottles from aconveyor to the turret, and the other is operable to transfer the cappedbottles from the turret back to the conveyor.

The machine further includes means for supporting a supply of caps,

of caps advanced from the cap supply to-the uncapped bottles as thelatter are advanced by the rotation of the turret. An

, cap contracting members is arranged above the 3 19 toiiouis J.

turret and rotatable in 'synchronism therewith, the heads being operableto contract the caps, or the skirts thereof, about the tops of thebottles.

More specifically, the machine is to a large ex.- tent the same generalstructure as the machine disclosed in Patent No. 2,177,990, issuedOctober Madden, this invention conpreferably in stack formation, and anoven for heating a procession annular series ofa sprocket I82, securedto the vertical shaft sisting of certain improvements on the machinedisclosed in the Madden patent.

In the drawings, the base of the machine is indicated at 28. A turret 2Iis rotatably mounted upon the base and provided about its periphery witha plurality of bottle pads or seats 22. The machine is arranged injuxtaposition to a bottleconveyor indicated at 23, and the bottles arefed from the conveyor onto the bottle seats 22 on the turret by means ofa star wheel 24 rotated in synchronism with the turret. The bottles areaccordingly advanced in a continuous procession and the caps are appliedto the bottles while they are traveling on the turret 2I. After theyhave been capped, they are transferred from the turret to the conveyor23 by a. second star wheel 25 which is likewise rotated in synchronismwith the turret and with the in-feedstar wheel24. The

bottles are guided onto and off from the turret by guide rail members26, 21, as shown in Figure3.

A substantially cylindrical head section 28 is mounted upon andsupported by a post 29 extending upwardly from the base 28. An annularseries of cap contracting heads 38 is arranged in the head section 28,the heads 38 being carried at the periphery of a spider member 3|rotatably mounted on post 29 and is slidably connected to a column 3 Iextending upwardly from the: turret 2|. The spider and heads areadjustable vertically relative to pads 22 to accommodate differentheight bottles. A head 38 is arranged axially above each of the bottlepads 22, and the series of heads 38 rotate in synchronism with theturret 2 I. Cam means is also arranged in the head section 28, effectingvertical movement of the heads 38 toward and from the bottles B. Whenthe heads 38 descend, the skirt portions of the caps C are foldeddownwardly about the necks of the bottles, and the heads include meansoperable to contract the skirt portions of the caps about the necks ofthe bottles. A motor 33 and motion transmitting means is arranged in thebase 28 to effect rotation of the turret 2 I, and operation ofthe-various elements of the machine. The motor'33 is connected to thetransmission 88 through a friction clutch which is moved into and out ofengagement by a lever I51 pivoted intermediate its ends on a bracket I58on base 28. The forward end of lever I51 is moved in a lateral directionby spaced cam collars I59 secured on a shaft I68 extending transverselyof the machine and having an operating handle 63 on each endthereof. Thedriven sprocket I88 of the transmission 88 has trained about it a whichis also trained about I83, to the upper end of which is secured anothersprocket I84. A second chain I85 is trained over the sprocket I84 andsprockets I86, I81, effecting rotation of the in-feed and out-feed starwheels 24 and 25. See Figs. 3 and 12. The chain I85 is also engaged byan idler sprocket I88 mounted upon a bracket I89 secured to the base 20and adjustable in conventional manner for maintaining the proper tensionon the chain I85.

The chain I85 is also trained about a portion sprocket chain I8I of theperiphery of a sprocket I 98 secured to the underside of the turret 2|.This drive arrangement is conventional in machines of this type, asshqwnin Fig. 4 of the Madden patent referred to, and 'it'will be apparentthat the in-feed and out-feed wheels 24 and 25 are rotated in timedrelation to the turret'2I.

' 7 a This invention-hastodomainly-with the means of the top section 28and the caps were progressed through the oven by conveyor means anddischarged onto the tops of the bottles as they were transferred fromthe conveyor to the turret by the in-feed star wheel. While thisarrangement worked satisfactorily, the oven structure was costly andadded materially to the bulk of the machine. Also, a comparatively largenumber of caps were continuously being advanced through the oven, withthe result that at the end of a run of bottles it was necessary to runthe machine long enough to remove these caps from the oven, and when themachine was started up it was necessary to restock the oven whichconsumed a considerable period of time inasmuch as the cap conveyormeans arranged in the oven was operated in timed relation to the otherparts of the machine. Another disadvantage. of that structure resided inthe fact that if the machine should be temporarily stopped, because of abroken bottle or other reason, the caps in the oven became overheated,and if the machine were stopped over an appreciable length of Themachine herein described is provided with an oven arranged injuxtaposition to the turret intermediate the infeed and output starwheels 24, 25, The oven consists of a casing of substantiallysemi-circular form comprising inner and .outer top walls 35, 31,arranged in spaced apart relationship and being formed with outerdepending side walls 38, 39. formed with an inner side wall 40, andthe'inner top wall 36 is formed with a short depending inner side wallM. The top and side walls of the open are formed of sheet metalenclosing a layer of insulating material to confine the heat within theoven. A plurality of heating elements 42 are arranged adjacent the innertop wall 36 of the oven and extend substantially coextensive therewith.The heating oven and associated parts are supported by a bracket 45secured to the top of the top section 28, as by screws 46. The bracket45 extends*-outwardly beyond the periphery of the head section 28, and asecond bracket 41 is secured thereto, The outer end of oven is supportedby a chain 49 attached at one end to an adjusting member 58 secured tothe top wall of the oven and passing over pulleys 5I jou'rnalled inbracket 41 and downwardly through a hollow post 52 secured in thebracket 45, as by screw 53. A weight 54 is attached to the lower end ofth chain 49 and is suflicient to overbalance the oven. When the oven isarranged in normal cap heating position, as shown in Figure 2, theweight 54 is supported by a latch 55pivoted at its upper end to theenlarged portion of the tube 52. The weight 55 is provided with a pin 6|engageable by the detent 62 of latch 55. The latch 55 tends to hang invertical position, and as the weight 55 is elevated, by movement of theoven into cap heating position, the pin BI is engaged by the latch andthe weight 55 is maintained in its up position. The free end of the Thetop wall 31 is or the like, 00. The handl 03 operates the clutch in themain drive of the machine. To stop rotation of the turret 2|, the handle63 is moved toward the front side of the machine and the latch 55 ismoved out of engagement with the pin 6| permitting the weight 54 toelevate the oven and move it-out of heat. exchanging relationship to thecaps being conveyed through the oven.

The caps C are conveyed through the oven by a conveyor of the turrettype. The conveyor consists of a turret member 65 secured to the lowerend of a tubular shaft 66 rotatably mounted upon the post 52. The turret55 is formed with a plurality of circumferentially spaced apartvertically extending apertures to slidably receive posts 51, to theupper ends of which are secured a plurality of fork members 68 extendingrad ally outwardly from the shaft 00. The lower ends of the posts 6! areprovided with rollers 69 operable upon a cam track 10 secured to a hubmember H as by screws 12, and the hub member in turn is accomplished bya valve member I pivotally mounted upon the shaft 04 and provided withan arcuate end portion coaeting with a seat l0l carried by bracket 83.The confronting faces of the members I00, |0| are provided with one and.tWO ports respectively. A suction pipe I03 is is secured to the lowerend of the tubular post 52, as by screw 13. The cam track isstationary,and the turret 65 is rotated and the fork memlliers elevated in timedrelation to the turret 2 A gear 14 is secured to the upper end of theshaft 65 and arranged in mesh with a gear secured to the end of a shaft15 -journalled in bearings arranged in bracket 45, and the opposit endof the shaft is provided witha gear arranged in mesh with a pinion I0mountedupon ashaft 19. The shaft 19 extends downwardly into shaft I18 ofthe drive mechanism arranged in the housing 80 in the base 20, and isrotated in unison with the sprocket I80. The arrangement of the shaft19, and the gearing operated thereby, is such as to operate the turret05 in timed relation with the turret 2| as hereinbefore explained.

The caps are arranged in a stack formation in a cap support Bl carriedby a bracket 82 secured to 9. depending bracket 03 which in turn iscarried by the bracket 45. The capsare successively transferred from thestack-formation to the fork members 60 by mechanism mounted upon thebracket 83. This mechanism comprises a shaft 84 journalled in bracket 83and provided at one end with a crank arm 05 having a ball and socketconnection 86 with a rod 81, the opposite end of which is connectedthrough a connected to one of the ports in the seat member ml. The otherport I04 isope'n to atmosphere. A flexible conduit I05 is connected 'tothe port in the oscillating member I00 and extends to an aperture I06 insuction cup 03. The oscillating arm 85 i in the nature of a quadranthaving inwardly extending portions "I08, each provided with anadjustable screw I09, the inner ends of which engage a web portion 0 ofthe oscillating member I00. Accordir'igly, as the arm 85 is oscillatedin one direction, the suction cup .03 is provided with a vacuum, throughconduit I05 which is connected to any suitable source of vacuum.

such as a conventional vacuum-pump not shown. the arrangement being suchas to release this vacuum when the cap has been positioned over the capreceiving member 98. 'The shaft 89 is operated through one revolution inresponse to actuation of means operable by each bottle that istransferred from the conveyor 23 to the turret 2|. Thisactuation takesplace upon engagement of each bottle with a roller'l l l. Movement ofthis roller engages the one revolution clutch which connects the shaft89 with the drive mechanism of the machine. The one revolution clutchmay be of any conventional design, such as shown in the patent to Wrightet a1. 1,884,952, and isarranged in'the housing 80 and is actuated byoscillation of the shaft 20f. the arm 206 of which is operativelyconnected through an adjustable joint 201 to link 208 running forwardlythrough the base 20 and being operatively connected to transverselyextending shaft 200, the opposite end of which is provided with an arm2l0. A shaft 2 is vertically journaled in the base and is provided atits upper end with a lever having a roller Ill'positioned below the starwheel 20 and in the path of movement 'ofthe bottles as they pass fromtheconveyor 21 into the pockets of the star wheel, see 3 The lower endof the shaft 2 H is provided with a laterally extending arm 2|!connected to the arm 210 through a link 3.

This arrangement is such that as each bottle" moves the roller I llinwardly toward the axis of "the star wheel 24, the linkage describedeffects similar ball and socket joint 88 to a shaft 89. A

second crank arm 90 is fixedly secured to the opposite end of the shaft84. The free end of the arm 00 is provided with an aperture to receive apin 9| to one end of which an arm 02 issecured provided witha suctioncup 93. a An arm 94 is secured to the opposite end of the pin!!! and isprovided witha cam slot 95. The arm 92 is arranged substantiallycentrally of the cap supporting member 8|, and the arm 00 is arranged tooscillate in close proximity tothe side of the bracket 03. A pin 95extends from the-side of the bracket 03 and is arrangedin the slot 95 ofarm 94. The arrangement of these parts is such that upon oscillation ofthe arm 85, the

suction cup 93 is positioned against the center of the lowermost cap inthe stack formation and is then moved to transfer the cap from theholder II and deposit the same in a-substantial-ly horizontal positionupon acap receiving member 00, as illustrated by dotted outline Figure6.

A vacuum is supplied to the suction cup 03 while the cap is beingtransferred from the cap support 0| to the cap receiving member 08. Thisoscillation of the shaft 20i to trip the pawl of the one revolutionclutch in the conventional manner. From the description, it is apparentthat as each bottle is transferred frointhe conveyor 23 to the turret2|, a cap istransferred from the .stack formation and deposited on thecap receiving member 98;

The cap-receiving member 08 is in the nature of I a flat plate securedto the lower end of the'bi'acket 03 and is formed:with acircular openingH2 merging with a rearwardly extending slothaving outer and innerconverging side walls- H3. The caps Care deposited upon and supported bya pair of spaced apart rail H4. The fork members 60 are provided withupwardly projecting pins H5 which pass through arcuate slot's H0 formedin the under side of the member 00. The timing. .of the turret 55,relative to the in-feed star wheel 24, is such that the suction cup 03is operated to transfer a cap to the cap receiving member when one ofthe forks 00 is positioned'beneat-h the member 00 and substantiallycoaxial with the opening H2. The peripheral edgelof the cap is engagedby the pins'l II, and the cap is moved along "the rails H4 and the capdeposited on the fork member as the same enters the heating oven. Therelative location of the oven and, turret 85 is such that theorbitalpath traveled by the forks S8 coincides with the path traveled by thebottles on turret 2|, and the arrangement of. the cam track 10 is'suchthat the forks 68 are lowered below thetops of the bottles at the timethe caps are positioned axially above the bottles, as indicated at I I1,Figures 3 and 4. The caps are successively deposited on the tops of thebottles and the bottles pass out of the forked members as the turrets2I,- 65 rotate. The camtrack III then elevates the forks to normal capcarrying position to receive the unheated caps as deposited by thesuction cup 33.

With this arrangement, a comparatively few caps are confined in heatexchanging relation within the oven. We have found the turretarrangement to be a particularly simple and efficient mechanism forconveying the caps through a heating oven and depositing the same on thetops of the bottles. Should the turret 2| be stopped for any reason, theoven is immediately elevated out of heat exchanging relation to the capswithintne oven, whereby the same do not become overheated or scorched.Also, at the end of the bottle run there are no unused caps remaining inthe oven inasmuch as the caps are transferred from the stack to theconveyor 55 after the bottles have entered the in-feed star wheel 24 andare on their way through the machine. The same applies when the machineis initially started up. By the time the first bottle reaches a positionto receive a cap, a cap has been transferred through the oven andproperly heated for application.

In the event acapshould be transferred from the stack formation to thecap conveyor and there should be no bottle top on which to deposit thecap, means is provided for removing the cap fromthe cap conveyor inorder to prevent the cap from again passing through the oven, or toprevent a new cap being deposited on top of the cap not used. Thissituationlmight occur where a bot-tle with the top broken off thereofwould pass into the capping machine. This result is accomplished by acap engaging member H8 in the nature of a flat spring secured to oneside of a chute H9. Th chute H9 is arranged adjacent the orbital path ofthe forked members 68 between the cap receivingmember 98 and the turret2|, as indicated in Figure 4. The free end of the spring member II8terminates in a plane above the forked members 68 at this point and isdepressed by the forked members as they travel over the'spring H8.Accordingly, if a cap remains on any of the forked members, it visremoved by the spring H8 and deposited in the chute II9.

The machine further includes means operable to preliminarily positioneach bottle placed upon the turret in register with the cap app y heads30, whereby the caps will be placed concentrically on the tops of thebottles by the fork members 68, and th caps will be evenly folded aboutthe top of the bottle by the heads 30. V

The heads 30 are slidable vertically in the periphery of the spidermember 3|. The heads comprise a body section I25 formed with sideflanges I 26 slidably arranged in vertically extendi l grooves I2'Iformed in the periphery of the spider member 3I. formed at their lowerend with a recess to receive the top of the bottle. A plurality ofmovable jaws I28 are arranged in the lower end of the heads and areactuated radially to contract the skirt portion of the cap about theneck of the bottle by an annular member I23 which is oscillated by a pinI30 secured to an arm I3I which, in turn, is secured to a shaft I32journalled in the spider member 3|. -An annl is secured to the upper endof the shaft I32 and is provided with a roller I34 engaging a cam trackI" p0si-' tioned above the spider I I The heads 30 descend by gravity tofold the caps about the top of the bottles and are moved I upwardly byroller I31 coacting with cam tracks I38, I39 secured to the inner sideof the head section.

- The cam track I39 is arranged intermediate the infeed star wheel 24and the cap conditioning oven. The cam track I33 is arranged to elevatethe heads 30 as the same approach the in-' feed star wheel 25 and tomaintain the heads in engagement with the bottles on the turret 2iimmediately after the bottles are positioned upon the pads 22 by thein-feed star wheel 24. The heads remain in engagement with the tops ofthe bottles for a short distance until the bottles approach the heatingoven, at which time the heads are elevated by the cam track I39 and aremaintained in elevated position while the bottles are passing injuxtaposition to the fork members 3!, and the heads descend immediatelyafter a cap has been deposited on the bottle. The heads remain inlowered position for approximately onehalf of the circumference of theturret 2I. The jaws I28 are actuated to contract the cap about the neckof the bottle during this movement of. the turret. The cam track I35 isformed with a low portion I42 to permit the roller I34 and arm I33 tomove inwardly toward the axis of the machine under the influence of aspring I43 which The body portion m are effects partial rotation of theannular member I29, which in turn effects radial inward movement of thejaws I28. The roller I34 is moved outwardly by the high portion of thecam track I35 just previous to the raising of the heads by the cam trackI38. s

The purpose of permitting the heads to descend into engagement with thetops of the bottles after the same have been fed onto the tiu'ret, andprevious to the application of the heated caps, is to preliminarilycenter the bottle with the closing heads 30. This results in the capsbeing placed concentrically on the top of the bottles by the forkmembers 68 and accordingly, when the heads 30 again descend the skirtportion of the caps is folded evenly about the neck of the bottles.

What we claim is:

1. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of which capsare coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capselfsecuring; comprising a base, a bottle carrying turret rotatablymounted upon the base, means operable upon rotation of said turret tofeed uncapped bottles onto the turret, and means operable to dischargecapped bottles from said turret, a magazine arranged to receive aplurality of caps in stack formation, a heating oven mounted injuxtaposition to said turret intermediate said bottle feed means andbottle discharge means, a cap conveyor operable in synchronism with saidturret to convey caps through the oven and-to successively position theheated caps on the tops of the uncapped bottles on said turret, a bottleactuatable controller arranged adjacent the bottle feed means andactuatable by each bottle fed onto said turret, cap transfer mechanismoperable in response to actuation of said controller to transfer a capfrom said stack to said cap conveyor, an annular series of cap closingheads arranged above said turret and rotatable therewith and operable tocontract the heated caps about the tops of the bottles, and motive meansfor effecting rotation of said turret.

2. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles. the skirts of whichcaps'are coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capselfsecuring: comprising a base, a bottle carrying turret rotatablymounted upon the base, means operable upon rotation of said turret'tofeed uncapped bottles onto the turret, and means operable to dischargecappedbottles from said turret, a magazine arranged to receive aplurality of caps in stack formation, a heating oven mounted injuxtaposition to said turret intermediate said bottle feed means andbottle discharge means, an annular series of cap supporting membersrotatable in synchronism with said bottle turret and operable to conveycaps through said oven and over the tops of the bottles carried by saidturret, and means'operable to effect relative vertical movement betweensaid cap carrying members and bottles to successively position theheated caps on the tops of the bottles on said turret, a bottleactuatable controller ar ranged adjacent the bottle feed means andactuatable by each bottle fed onto said turret, cap

transfer mechanism operable in response to actuation of said controllerto transfer a cap from said stack to said cap conveyor, an annularseries of cap closing heads arranged above said turret and rotatabletherewith and operable to contract the heated caps about the tops of thebottles, and motive means for effecting rotation of said turret.

3. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of which capsare coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capself-securing: comprising a base, a bottle carrying turret rotatablymounted upon the base, means operable upon rotation of said turret tofeed uncapped bottles onto the turret, and means operable to dischargecapped bottles from said turret, a magazine arranged to receive aplurality of caps in stack formation, a heating oven mounted injuxtaposition to said turret intermediate said bottle feed means andbottle discharge means, an annular series of cap carrying mem; bersrotatable in synchronism with said bottle turret to convey caps throughsaid oven, said members being individually movable vertically, and cammeans for effecting vertical movement of said members to position heatedcaps on the bottles on said turret, a bottle actuatable controllerarranged adjacent the bottle feed means and actuatable by each bottlefed onto said turret, cap transfer mechanism operable in response toactuation of said controller to transfer a cap from said stack to saidcap conveyor, an annular series of cap closing heads arranged above saidturret and rotatable therewith and operable to contract the heated capsabout the tops of the bottles, and motive means for effecting rotationof said turret.

4. A machine for applying paper material hood caps to bottles, theskirts of which caps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat totable controller arranged adjacent the bottle feed render the capself-securing; comprising a base,

a bottle carrying turret rotatably mounted upon the base, means operableupon rotation of said.

turret to feed uncapped bottles onto the turret, and means operable todischarge capped bottles from said turret, a magazine arranged toreceive a plurality of caps in stack formation, a heating oven mountedin juxtaposition to said turret intermediate said bottle feed means andbottle discharge means, a cap conveyor operable in synchronism withsaidturret to convey caps through the oven and to successively position theheated caps on the tops of the uncapped bottles on said turret, andmeans operable, upon cessation of rotation of said bottle turret, toreduce heat transfer to the caps on said conveyor, a bottle actuameansand actuatable by each bottle fed onto said turret, cap transfermechanism operable in response to actuation of said controller totransfer a cap from said stack to said cap conveyor, an annular seriesabove said turret and rotatable therewith and operable to contract theheated caps about the tops of the bottles, and motive means foreffecting rotation of said turret.

5. A machine for applying paper material hood caps to bottles, theskirts of which caps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat torender the cap self-securing; comprising a base, a bottle carryingturret rotatably mounted upon the base, means operable upon rotation ofsaid turret to feed uncapped bottles onto the turret, and means operableto discharge capped bottles from said turret, a magazine arranged-toreceive a plurality of caps in stack formation, a heating oven mountedin juxtaposition to said turret intermediate said bottle feed means andbottle discharge means", a cap conveyor operable in synchronism withsaid turret to convey caps through the oven and to successively positionthe heated caps on the tops of the uncapped bottles on said turret, andmeans operable, upon cessation of rotation 'of said bottle turret, toeflect relative movement between said oven and said cap conveyor toreduce the heat transfer to caps on said conveyor, a bottle actuatablecontroller arranged adjacent the bottle feed means and actuatable byeach bottle fed onto said turret, cap transfer mechanism operable inresponse to actuation of said controller to transfer a cap from saidstack to said cap conveyor, an annular series of cap closing headsarranged above said turret and rotatable therewith and operable tocontract the heated caps about the tops of the bottles, and motive meansfor effecting rotation of said turret.

6. A machine for applying paper material hood caps to bottles, theskirts of which caps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat torender the cap self-securing; comprising a base, a bottle carryingturret rotatably mounted upon the base, means operable upon rotation ofsaid turret to feed uncapped bottles onto the turret, and means operableto discharge capped bottles from said turr'et, a magazine arranged toreceive a plurality of caps in stack formation, a heating oven mouned injuxtaposition to said turret intermediate said bottle feed means andbottle discharge means, a cap conveyor operable in synchronism with saidturret to convey caps through the oven and to successively position theheated caps on the tops of the uncapped bottles on said turret, andmeans operable, upon cessation of rotation of said bottle turret, tomove said oven out of heat transferring relation to the caps on saidconveyor,

of cap closing heads arranged a bottle actuatable controller arrangedadjacent the bottle feed means and actuatable by each bottle fed ontosaid turret, cap transfer mechanism operable in response to actuation ofsaid controller to transfer a cap from said stack to said cap conveyor,anannular series of cap closing heads arranged above said turret androtatable therewith and operable to contract the heated caps about thetops of the bottles, and motive means for effecting rotation of saidturret.

'7. A machine for applying caps to bottles comprising a frame, means foradvancing a continuous procession of bottles, a series of cap sealingheads arranged above said bottles, and means for advancing said heads inunison with said bottles, cap feeding mechanism operable to deposit acap on 'each of said bottles as the same are advanced, means operable tocause each of cession of bottles onto said turret, an annular series ofcap sealing heads arranged above said turret and rotated in synchronismtherewith, cap feeding means operable to deposit a cap. on each bottleon said turret, cam means cooperable with each of said heads to causethe same to move downward into engagement with the bottle below the headand position the same in register with the headand to move said headupwardly out of engagement with the bottle previous to the deposition ofthe cap thereon, said cam means being also cooperable with each of saidheads to cause the same to subsequently move downward, into engagementwith the cap on the bottle and to seal the cap to the bottle, and tosubsequently move upward out of engagement with the bottle.

9. 'A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application ofheat to make the cap self-securing on the bottles, comprising a base,means mounted on the base and operable to advance a procession ofbottles, an oven for heating the caps previous to their application tothe bottles, conveyor .means operable to convey a procession of capsthrough said oven, means operable to successively e fiect transfer ofthe heated caps from the conveyor to the tops of the bottles as theyadvance, cap contracting members movable in unison with said processionof bottles and operable to contract the caps about the tops of thebottles during advancement thereof, and means operable to remove fromsaid conveyor any caps not transferred from said conveyor to thebottles.

10. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application ofheat to make the caps self-securing to the bottles, comprising a base,means mounted on the base and operable to advance a procession ofbottles, an oven arranged in juxtaposition to said bottle advancingmeans for heating the caps previous to their application to the bottles,a cap conveyor operable to convey a procession of caps through said ovenand over the tops of said for supporting a supply of cap disks, bottleconbottles, means operable to efiect transfer of said heated caps to thetops of the bottles, cap contracting members movable in unison with saidprocession of bottles and operable to contract the caps thereon aboutthe tops of the bottles during the advancement thereof, means arrangedin juxtaposition to said cap conveyor and operable to remove from theconveyor any caps not transferred to the bottles.

11. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capself-securing; comprising a base, a turret rotatably mounted on the baseand operable to advance a procession of uncappedbottles, an ovenarranged in juxtaposition to said turret for heating the caps previousto their application to the bottles, a turret cap conveyor arranged intangential relationship to the turret and operable in unison therewithto advance a procession of caps through said oven and position theheated caps on the tops of the respective bottles, said oven beingnormally positioned to heat the caps as they are advanced by said turretconveyor, and being movable from said conveyorto reduce the heattransfer to the caps thereon, means which is operable independently ofsaid turret bottle advancing and turret capadvancing mechanisms uponcessation of movement of said cap turret to effect movement of said ovenfrom normal cap heating position, and cap contracting members operableto contract the heated caps about the tops of the bottles.

12. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capsself securing; comprising a suitable frame, means for supporting asupply of cap disks, bottle conveying means operable to convey uncappedbottles to a capping station, a cap disk heating means arrangedintermediate said supply and said station, cap advancing meansoperableto advance cap disks from said supplwd said capping station andduringsuch advancement to successively position said cap disks in heatexchanging relation to said cap disk heating means, and means which isoperable independently of said bottle conveying and cap advancing meansupon cessation of the advancement of said cap disks to reduce the heattransfer from said heating means to the cap disks in juxtapositionthereto.

13. In a machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capsself-securlng; comprising a suitable frame, means veying means operableto convey uncapped bottles to a capping station, a cap disk heaterarranged intermediate said supply and said capping station, meansoperable to advance cap disks from said supply to said cappin stationand during such advancement to successively position the cap disks inheat exchanging relation to said heater, and means which is operableindependently of said bottle conveying and cap advancing means uponcessation of the advancement of said cap disks to effect movement ofsaid heater in a direction from the cap disks in juxtaposition theretoto reduce the heat transfer from the heater to said cap disks.

14. A machine for applying hoo'd caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with an adhesive activated by heat to render the capsself-securing, comprising a suitable frame, means for supporting asupply of cap disks, bottleconi said veying -means operable to conveyuncapped bottles to a capping station, a cap heater arranged adjacentsaid capping station, cap advancing means operable to advance a cap diskfrom said supply to said capping station simultaneously with themovement of each bottle toward said station and during the advancementof such cap to move the same in heat exchanging relation to heater, andmeans whichis operable independently of said bottle conveying and capadvancing means upon the cessation of the advancement of said cap disksto effect movement of said heater out of heat exchanging relation tosaid cap disks.

15. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application ofheat to make the caps self securing on the bottles; comprising a base,means operable for advancing a procession of bottles to a cappingstation, a cap heating means, a cap advancing means operable to advancea procession of caps in heat exchanging relation to said cap heatingmeans to said capping station, motive means for operating said bottleand cap advancing means, and means controllable with the control of theadvancing means to reduce the heat transfer from said cap heating meansto said caps.

16. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application ofheat to make the caps self securing on the bottles; comprising a base,means operable for advancing a processionof bottles to a cappingstation, a cap heating means operable to advance a procession of caps inheat exchanging relation to said cap heating means to said cappingstation, motive means for operating said bottle andcap advancing means,and means, controllable with the control of the advancing means, toreduce the heat transfer from said cap heating means to said capswithout reducing the heat output of said heating means.

17. A machine for applying hood caps to bot.-

tles, the skirts of which caps are coated with a substance renderedadhesive by the application of heat to make the caps self-securing onthe bottles, comprising a suitable frame, means mounted on the frame andoperable to advance a procession of bottles past a cap applying station,an oven arranged in juxtaposition to said bottle advancing means forheating the caps previous to their application" to the bottles at saidmeans, a cap' advancing cap applying station, a cap conveyor operable toconvey a procession of caps through said oven and over the tops of thebottles at said cap applying station, means operable to eflect transferof said heated caps to the tops of the bottles at said station, capcontracting members movable in unison with said procession of bottlesand operable to contract the caps thereon about the tops of the bottlesduring the advancement thereof, and means arranged in juxtaposition tosaid cap conveyor and operable to remove from said conveyor any heatedcaps which have failed to be transferred from said conveyor to thebottles at said capping station.

18. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application ofheat to make the caps self-securing on the bottles, comprising means foradvancing a procession of bottles, a cap heater, a cap magazine adaptedto contain a supply of cold caps, a cap conveyor operable insynchronism' with the advan'cement of the procession of bottles toconvey caps through said heater and deposit the heated caps directly onthe tops of the bottles in said procession, a bottle actuatablecontroller arranged to be actuated by each bottle advancing in saidprocession,- cap transfer mechanism operable in response to eachactuation of said controller to transfer a cap-from said magazine tosaid conveyor, a series of cap closing heads arranged above saidprocession of bottles and being operable to contract the heated capsabout the tops of the bottles. I

19. A machine for applying hood caps to bottles, the skirts of whichcaps are coated with a substance rendered adhesive by the application ofheat to make the caps self-securing on the bottles,'comprising means foradvancing a procession of bottles, a cap heater, a cap magazine adaptedto contain a supply of cold caps, a series of cap supporting membersmovable in synchronism with the advancementof the'bottles in saidprocession and being operable to convey caps through said cap heater andover the tops of the bottles of said procession, and meansoperable toeffect relative vertical movement between said.

cap carrying members and the bottles in said procession to successivelyposition the heated caps on the tops of the bottles during theadvancement thereof, a bottle actuatable controller arranged to beactuated by each bottle advancing insaid procession, cap transfermechanism operable in response to each actuation of said controller totransfer a cap from said magazine to one of said cap supporting members,a series of cap closing heads arranged above said procession of bottlesand being operable to contract the heated caps about the tops of thebottles during the advancement thereof.

ALFRED A. BARNES.

JOHN 1". PRICE.

